Cell Tower RF Blamed for Brain Tumors

May 18, 2006

New evidence has surfaced in Australia stirring up debate about whether cell phone usage causes health damage. Recently published reports indicate there may be a link between extended cell phone use (2,000 hours or more) and brain tumors.

Last week, online publication, The Age, reported that the staff at Australia's RMIT University had a higher than normal rate of brain tumors -- five discovered in the last month and two others in 1999 and 2001. Of the seven tumors, five were benign and two malignant. The academics' union believes the cause of the tumors may be a nearby communications tower on the roof of a former theater site.

The National Tertiary Education Union State Secretary, Matthew McGowan said, "This would be appear to be more than coincidence... " RMIT University closed the top two floors of one of its buildings in response to concerns about RF exposure.

A spokeswoman for Telstra, which has two of the towers at the Trivoli site, pointed to the large amount of medical research showing no "substantiated evidence of a link between mobile phone technology and adverse health effects."

State health officials said it would have the matter investigated, according to the report.